


Inked With Trust

by clonephemera



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, Jesse is Enthusiastic, Kix is Having a Day, M/M, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:15:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29232870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clonephemera/pseuds/clonephemera
Summary: Ever since getting his Republic tattoo, Jesse had been obsessed with the idea of getting more ink done; maybe even learning how to do tattoos himself.He bursts into the barracks with a mischievous grin and a box in his hands.“Hey Kix, guess what I got…”
Relationships: CT-5597 | Jesse/CT-6116 | Kix
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23
Collections: Clone Haven Ship of the Month





	Inked With Trust

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic! This was prompted by the Clone Haven ship of the month (Jessix) and the word "trust." 
> 
> This is very silly and unscientific. Apologies for all liberties taken with how tattooing actually works.

Jesse bursts into the barracks with a mischievous grin and a box in his hands. “Hey Kix, guess what I got…”

He plops the box down on his bunk and opens the latch, eagerly pulling out the goods inside: a tattoo machine, a pad of semi-transparent flimsi, a marker, some tiny cups, and three vials of ink. 

“Well, well... Zeer finally showed you how to use that thing, eh?,” Kix responds, with a raised eyebrow. Ever since getting his Republic tattoo, Jesse had been obsessed with the idea of getting more ink done; maybe even learning how to do tattoos himself. Although Zeer was the unofficial artist aboard the _Resolute_ , he was happy to show the younger trooper the ropes and teach him how to use the contraband machines.

“He did! We’ve been practicing. It feels different than drawing on flimsi, but once you get the hang of it, it’s not so bad. Check it out, I did this—” Jesse lifts the leg of his blacks slightly, revealing the word ‘TORRENT’ in fresh black ink above his ankle. 

Kix lets out a low whistle and leans in for a closer look. “You are nothing if not proud… it looks good though, Jess. Clean.” 

He smirks, pleased with his handiwork. “Thanks! So uh, not to pressure you, but I know you’ve been wanting to get some ink too, right? We got a few hours before anyone else is due back here. How about I give you your first one? C’mon. You trust me, don’t you?” 

“Of course I do. More than anyone. It’s just… it’d be your first time tattooing another person, right? You sure you’re comfortable with that thing?”

“Wouldn’t suggest it if I wasn’t.” 

Kix considers it a moment before giving Jesse a small nod; the eagerness in his brown eyes too hard to resist. “Yeah... yeah, alright. Let’s do this thing. If you mess this up though, I will never, _ever_ let you hear the end of it.”

“I won’t! Promise. Plus, then _I’d_ be stuck lookin’ at your ugly ink forever, and that’s just unattractive…” 

Kix gives him a playful shove before sitting down next to him on the bunk. 

“You remember the idea I had, right? Just text: ‘A GOOD DROID IS A DEAD ONE’. I’m not as dedicated as _you_ ,” he snickers, gesturing at the massive Republic symbol that recently emblazoned most of Jesse’s scalp, “but the side of the head’ll do. I’m thinkin’ right here.” He points to a cleanly-shaved horizontal stripe just above his left ear. 

“You got it. Here, lemme sketch it first.” Jesse pulls out the marker and a piece of the flimsi, and holds it up to Kix’s scalp. “Just gonna measure the space first.” He sketches a rectangle, then puts the flimsi back down on his lap and starts to write out the phrase in clean letters. 

Kix gives him a gentle elbow. “Make sure you spell it right, _di’kut_.” 

“It’s _six words!_ I know how to spell.” 

“I know, I know, it’s just on me forever. Excuse the caution...” 

Jesse points back at the enormous symbol on his scalp and gives Kix a wink. “No regrets!” 

“You are _so_ lucky that looks cute on you,” Kix says, shaking his head. 

“Aww, thanks.” Jesse finishes the sketch and turns it to Kix for approval. “See? I can spell. Seriously though, this one should be a piece of cake.” 

Kix reads it over, scrutinizing the letters, repeating the phrase in his mind and reminding himself why he wanted it. _Kriffing droids putting too many men in my medbay._ He holds the piece of flimsi in front of him and nods with satisfaction. “Yeah, that’s just right. Can I see how it’ll look on me?”

“Oh. Yeah yeah, sure, here—” Jesse reaches over to a drawer next to the bunk, pulls out a small compact mirror, and hands it to Kix. He holds the piece of flimsi up against Kix’s head so he can see that the phrase fits just right into the shaved area. 

“Okay. Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Looks good.” He drops the mirror behind him, onto the bed. 

“Alright, great. Now I just gotta transfer this over…” Jesse holds the flimsi up to Kix’s head and starts copying the design over with the marker, one line at a time. 

Eyeing the machine, Kix’s curiosity is piqued. “Who else are you planning on using this thing on, anyway? Or are you just gonna keep covering yourself without telling me first? I would appreciate a heads up, you know...”

“Oh, we’ll see. I’m sure any batches of shinies that come through will be pretty eager to get inked. Zeer doesn’t have time to do all of ‘em, so it helps to have a few guys in the barracks who can do it safely, right?” 

“If it keeps ‘em out of my medbay for stupidity, sure,” Kix smirks. He thinks back to a particularly naive shiny who recently came in with an infection for attempting to tattoo himself with some smuggled ink that didn’t exactly agree with his skin. A bacta patch healed him up, but the tattoo… well, if it was supposed to look like a hutt, he nailed it.

Jesse finishes with the marker. He raises and lowers the flimsi from Kix’s head a few times to double-check his handiwork and nods in approval. “Alright. Here we go.” 

“Hey, don’t I get to see it actually _drawn on my head_ first?” 

“It looks just like when I held up the flimsi in the mirror. You said you trust me!” 

“I _do!_ ” 

Jesse puts the flimsi drawing on Kix’s lap and gives it a little pat. “So then? Here it is.” 

Kix gives a deep sigh. “Okay, you’re right. I’m sure it's fine. Go ahead.” 

Jesse uncaps the vial of black ink and pours some into one of the provided cups. He turns the tattoo machine over in his hands, holding it with all the excitement of a youngling with a new toy. Giving the trigger of the machine a quick squeeze, his face lights up at the whirring noise that it makes. 

“Alright. I’m gonna need you to sit like this—” he turns Kix’s head just so— “and stay nice and still. It’s gonna sting a bit, sorry ‘bout that.” 

“Yeah, I _know_ they hurt… thanks for the news flash. I think I’ll live. Besides, I know where all the good pain meds are if I need ‘em.” 

“Naughty. Okay, doing it...” Jesse dunks the tip of the machine into the ink, squeezes the trigger, and pulls the first line against Kix’s scalp. Sure enough, Kix winces slightly as the needle stings his skin, but he does his best to keep his composure. _Feels like a burn. Or a scalpel. Could be worse._ Jesse finishes another line, then another. The two sit in comfortable silence with just the buzzing of the machine filling the air around them. A few moments later, Jesse sighs lightly and takes his finger off the trigger, shaking and flexing his drawing hand.

“That’s it?” 

“Getting there. It looks good so far! Sorry it’s takin’ a while, I just want to be careful. You mind if I run to the ‘fresher for a minute? Should be smooth sailing to finish after that. Just don’t touch it.” 

“Yeah, that’s fine, do what you need. I’ll be here.”

“Thanks. Be right back.” Jesse sets the supplies aside and pops out the door. Kix shakes his head and reaches behind him for the mirror— 

He pats his hand on the blanket and feels nothing. He looks around to make sure it isn’t hiding somewhere on the mattress, but… _There’s no mirror. Of course he took the damn mirror._

The door slides open again and Kix whips around to give Jesse a piece of his mind, only to be greeted by Hardcase instead. 

“Oh. Hey, Hardcase. How’s it going?” 

“Good!” His eyes go wide when he notices the black ink on Kix’s scalp. “Oh man, finally getting a tat, eh? Lemme see it!” Hardcase bounces over to the bunk and Kix reluctantly shifts to give him a better look. 

Hardcase pauses and gives a quizzical expression before chuckling. “Huh. A GOOD DROID! Yeah, you know, that _is_ a pretty good droid—”

Kix turns to look Hardcase dead in the eyes. “‘Case. _What_ are you talking about?” He holds up the flimsi sketch and waves it in front of him. “Look. It’s six words. There’s no kriffing droid.” 

Hardcase gives him a firm pat on the back just as the door slides back open. 

“Right, sorry ‘bout that. Oh hey Hardcase,” Jesse greets, casually whipping a towel over his shoulder. 

“Jess. What... the hell... are you doing to my head?” 

“Giving you your tattoo! Relax!”

“I didn’t ask for a _kriffing droid!_ ” He waves the sketch furiously, the warbling sound of flimsi filling the room. “Gimme the mirror. _Now!_ ” 

“The mirr… oh, yeah, whoops. Here ya go.” Jesse pulls the mirror out of his pocket and tosses it to Kix, who gives him a death glare before flicking it open and holding it up. 

Well, he did finish the top part... 'A GOOD DROID'. Below the inked text, where the rest of the phrase should be, Kix sees a crude marker drawing of a B1 droid lying on its back, with an ‘X’ for an eye and a tongue sticking out from its head. There’s a little waving flag in its hand with a Republic emblem on it.

“I could kill you.”

Hardcase bursts out laughing, grabs a backpack off his bunk, and stumbles back toward the door. “I dunno, I kinda like Jesse’s idea better. I’ll let you two work this out. Gotta run!” 

Jesse holds back a giggle and plops back down next to Kix, rubbing a hand over the top of his head. “I’m sorry, I had to have a little fun with ya… you know I wouldn’t _actually_ ruin your tattoo, right? You’re cute when you’re angry, though.” 

Kix tries to regain his composure, feeling his cheeks flushed red, and gives Jesse a smack on the arm. “Fix it.”

Jesse pulls the damp towel from over his shoulder and gently scrubs it against Kix’s skin, wiping the droid drawing away. “There, he’s gone. Need me to kiss it better too, or are we good?”

“You make things real difficult sometimes,” Kix says with an eye roll, “but thank you. How ‘bout we save the kiss for when you’re actually finished?”

“Sounds like a plan. I don’t really want _a good droid_ for a boyfriend, anyway.” 

“Shut up.”

Jesse takes back the flimsi sketch and transfers the rest of the design on. The tattoo machine whirs back to life, and this time Kix holds onto the mirror and doesn’t let go.   



End file.
